Posted on: Sat 25-12-2021

The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) is a tertiary health institution that is committed to providing high quality, accessible and innovative healthcare to the good people of Lagos State through its dedicated workers. These healthcare services cannot be optimally provided in an environment where patients’ relatives and visitors assault and harass our staff while discharging their duties and treating patients.

Our workers, especially doctors and nurses who are directly involved in patient care at the emergency sections of the hospital have been exposed to threats, verbal aggression and physical abuse perpetrated by patients, patients’ relatives and their visitors based on alleged grievances that they might have with the process of their care.

Violence against health workers is unacceptable. It not only has a negative impact on the psychological and physical well-being of healthcare staff, but also affects their job motivation. Consequently, this compromises the quality of healthcare delivery.

The Management of the hospital, would like to inform the general public that it frowns at violence of any kind against its workers under any circumstance and would not tolerate any assault against staff going forward. Such actions put healthcare workers in harm's way at a time when they are needed the most. Many have been insulted, harassed and subjected to physical violence that has created an atmosphere of fear, which adds significant stress to workers’ physical and mental health and also that of their families.

It is important to know that there are systems provided for checks and balances within the hospital which are available to address certain situations if they occur and the hospital has on several occasions appealed to aggrieved members of the public, including patients’ relatives to seek redress through various channels provided by the hospital.

The hospital Management wishes to state that any harassment or assault on any of her staff will be regarded as a deliberate attempt to disobey and disregard a constituted authority, to inflict pain and to create a disruption in the operation of duties. Anyone perpetrating such act of violence will be handed over to law enforcement officers for further actions.

We are using this avenue to appeal to the general public to be orderly, not to insult and harass any member of staff when accessing treatment in the hospital. Our staff are trained and cultured to deliver the best of care to our patients and the hospital is constantly training and encouraging its workers to ensure continual improvement in service delivery.

We would like to reiterate the hospital’s commitment to provide quality healthcare services to our clients but we implore that patients’ relatives and visitors cooperate with our staff to facilitate their care.



Signed:
Head, Public Affairs Unit,
For: Chief Medical Director.
LASUTH

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